My name is Marianne O. I am a special education teacher by trade and now turned administrator. The majority of my career has been spent at the middle school level (ages 11 – 13), but I do have experience working from preschool to 12th grade as an administrator (ages 3 – 18). I’m passionate about unlocking potential and making learning accessible.

Experiential Learning is, in my opinion, the ideal way to craft a learning experience.  Prior to knowing the term, my first time utilizing this technique was as a student at a Montessori School.  If we were learning about travel and budgeting – we planned an actual trip.  If the goal was to understand fractions, we lived that out cooking lunch for the class each Friday and tripling the frosting recipe. As special education teachers, we are encouraged to engage students in multisensory activities that have meaning in their lives.

What problems/conflicts/shortcomings did you have in the class that led you to investigate and start to apply the technique with your students?

I experience many issues related to a student’s retention of information.  When they take information in through only one or two modalities, they do not retain as deeply as if it is something they have actively engaged in and experienced.  Learning through doing makes the experience the student’s own.

Where did you get the information on the technique (website, book, etc)

I’m sure I initially read about this technique in a class – though experiential learning is probably the most “common sense” technique out there.  The issue is that many typical classroom settings are not set up for full experiential learning.  It’s as if every class needs a corresponding lab.  I am remembering John Dewey who first created a lab school type of setting in the Gary Schools back when Gary, Indiana, USA, was truly thriving.  I recommend some research into this, but this was one of the first modern day examples of Experiential Learning.

Did you have any problems in implementing it and if yes which ones?

Just logistical problems meaning space, funding and materials to make these experiences come alive.  Some do not require additional funds, especially if the activity simply requires movement to be experiential.

What were the benefits you found when implementing the technique in the classroom?

Greater engagement, retention and overall enjoyment for students.

With which subject/levels/courses/modules/VET degrees… Do you use it?

I feel this topic lends itself most to science, some math, and aspects of history.  I find it more challenging to consider how I would incorporate experiential learning into an English curriculum.  Interestingly, English was my strongest subject.  Perhaps this lends itself to not needing to be as engaging an instructional strategy when a subject comes naturally.

How do you evaluate the results of this technique in class?

Exit Slips and reflection on student assessment or project grades.

What are the benefits for the students (both in the learning process as well as for their professional careers)

Life is an experience and almost everything we do as adults in most workplaces is more of an activity and group project in many careers. Experiential learning will build more well-rounded adults both in the workplace and with daily living skills.

What do you think it brings to your students? What feedback do you get from them when applying the technique in class?

I see overall more engagement and joy in students who are engaging in lessons where they create a product and have been engaged in the steps of the process. I also see students who would be more likely to remember the steps and the outcome.

Are there any factors to take into account when applying this technique with different classes? (also, more appropriate number of students, appropriate space and age).

As I mentioned elsewhere you typically need appropriate space to carry out an experiential lesson.  This would be the ideal type of technique to use in a class that is co-taught with a special and general education teacher because you have additional staff and the ability to do creative ability groupings and possibly use multiple rooms with supervision.

If you encountered problems in using the technique, how did you solve them?

Most problems using this technique would have to do with having appropriate materials and classroom management.  Allowing students to work more independently and creatively requires that students have a solid understanding of expectations and processes and procedures first.  The teacher should be a facilitator in this scenario.

Do’s and don’ts concerning the techniques

• Do allow choice
• Don’t focus only on the product.
• Do focus on the process
• Do expect students to explain what they learned and why it is important
• Don’t focus on a “fun” activity
• Do focus on a purposeful activity that can be generalized
• Mention a personal anecdote, a very positive experience, a comment from a student, or something you have seen, something inspiring to encourage other teachers to try.